While the medical community grapples with how to rethink prescribing habits in the wake of an undeniable opioid crisis, some major politicking has begun.

Everyone's got a different idea about how to address the epidemic. Perpetuated in part by over-prescribing doctors, the epidemic kills on average 174 Americans a day.

There's generally two approaches: 1) Go after the suppliers and prescribers individually to root out bad actors and 2) change the way all doctors are allowed to prescribe these addictive pills and require them to better identify when their patients have an addiction problem.

The latter has come with not only outrage and dismay from providers and patients, but some logistical issues as well. That's what the Mississippi State Medical Licensure Board has found over the last several months as it's tried to pass new regulations for licensed physicians.

Now, the Legislature is getting involved through a bill that just passed the Senate to create a state Opioid Crisis Commission — legislation already receiving pushback from the governor.

You may be asking yourself, "How is this different from the Governor's Opioid and Heroin Study Task Force convened last year and which presented its findings in August complete with 41 recommendations?"

The governor's task force was chaired by Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Director John Dowdy, who primarily sees the effects of the opioid epidemic on the street and in jails. Dr. Randy Easterling, a member of the licensure board and an addiction specialist, served as vice chairman.

The new commission would be headed up by State Health Officer Dr. Mary Currier, who answers to the State Board of Health.

On the Board of Health are two members who have recently been accused of improper prescribing.

Board member Dr. Dwalia South allegedly wrote her name under nurse practitioner Brenda Shelton's old prescriptions to conceal the fact the nurse was writing them. MBN charged Shelton, who was not properly licensed, with prescription fraud.

Previous board chairman Dr. Luke Lampton received a six-month license suspension, which was stayed, after the licensure board discovered he had left several pre-signed blank prescriptions for his nurse to issue to Suboxone patients while he went out of town. Suboxone is used in the treatment of opioid dependence. He agreed to a consent order in exchange for the stayed suspension, meaning it did not take effect.

Gov. Phil Bryant added his voice to the issue Friday, saying through a statement from spokesman Clay Chandler that "any physician with a disciplinary issue involving prescriptions for controlled substances should recuse themselves from rule-making for other doctors."

Bryant's office also indicated the Senate bill's attempts could hamper the existing progress of the licensure board.

Chandler continued: "The Governor's Opioid and Heroin Task Force — made up of stakeholders across the medical, legal, law enforcement and recovery communities — has already made recommendations to address this critical issue. Regulatory boards charged with implementing these recommendations are close to finalizing many of them. That work should not be interrupted. The longer these proposals remain unimplemented, the more Mississippians will die. Gov. Bryant questions the need for an additional commission, was not consulted before enabling legislation was filed, and would adamantly oppose any effort to impede the progress already made in fighting this scourge."

Currier actually spoke before the licensure board at a recent hearing to raise concerns about the rules, which she said would drive more people to the street to use more dangerous substitutes like heroin or worse, fentanyl.

"We'll have more deaths," she said. "We'll have HIV and Hepatitis C out the wazoo."

"It's a public health crisis and it needs a public health solution," said Rep. Joel Bomgar, R-Madison, who has been researching opioid trends and has publicly cautioned the licensure board of the unintended consequences in its proposed regulations.

Sen. Terry Burton, R-Newton, who authored the legislation to create a new commission, said solving the opioid crisis will require legislation and input from legislators — just what many in the medical community were hoping to avoid. No lawmakers sat on the governor's task force.

"As far as solutions are concerned, we have a long way to go to deal with this crisis and make sure we don't create another one," Burton said.

Burton cited problems with the regulations proposed by the licensure board, saying, "I have received phone call after phone call after phone call ... from folks who have issues with particular regulations ... being too overbearing, too ominous."

Dealing with the opioid crisis at the Legislature has even overlapped with a hotly contested health care idea being pushed by libertarian-leaning lawmakers: the elimination of provider expansion regulations called the Certificate of Need. Sweeping legislation to do away with CONs failed earlier this session.

The primary provision in a bill by Sen. Sally Doty, R-Brookhaven, to address the opioid crisis would eliminate the requirement for chemical dependency treatment clinics to receive a Certificate of Need. Bomgar supports this legislation but said he knows it likely lacks political will behind it.